1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer network system which is constructed by connecting a plurality of computer systems to one another via a communication network, and a personal identification system adapted for use in this computer network system. More particularly, this invention relates to a computer network system which executes security processing using physical characteristic data and a personal identification system adapted for use in this computer network system.
2. Description of the Related Art
For the security protection, a computer network system, which has a plurality of computer terminals (systems) mutually connected via a communication network, should perform a process of identifying each user to discriminate if the user has the proper access right, i.e., an access right determining process, in response to the user's request to access to the network system. The most typical way to identify a user is to input a password as a user identification (ID) code from a keyboard of a computer terminal. Because the determination of a user ID code is based only on the password that is input from a keyboard in this method, anybody who knows the password of any registered user can access the network without the proper authorization. This scheme cannot therefore completely prevent an unauthorized access to the network.
Therefore, passwords are made complex to improve security, and some additional measures are taken such as setting exclusive passwords individually at the time of accessing to one computer system from another in the same network. This method requires that each user should memorize plural types of complicated passwords and needs a very tedious operation of entering passwords, putting great burden on users.
As mentioned above, the conventional method of accessing to a network system or a computer system in a computer network system using passwords cannot accomplish complete security protection and inevitably involves a tiresome operation by each user.